Tom Dumoulin: "2019 is not a good year for me to put everything on the Tour"

Jan 04 2019 03:00 am CET

Photo of Tom Dumoulin (c) Team Sunweb

Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) has confirmed that he will ride the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France, but the focus will be solely on the Italian race.

After the presentation of the course of the 2019 Tour de France, Dumoulin and Sunweb had to change plans. They had already agreed that the Dutchman was going to put his main focus on the French grand tour, but the route doesn't suit him at all, while the one of the Giro d'Italia seems perfectly made for him.

"My chance of winning the Giro this year is simply many times greater than winning the Tour," said the rider at Sunweb's presentation in Berlin. "It was already certain that we would put everything on the Tour in 2019. But after the Tour presentation, I suddenly started to think if that was a smart idea."

"The team finally made the decision, it was a difficult choice because I understand that I don't have many years to win the Tour. But 2019 is just not a good year for me to put everything on the Tour."

Dumoulin will also start at the Tour de France after the Giro d'Italia, the race in which he finished second in 2018. "I have realised, particularly after last year, that I really want to win the Tour once," he explained. "That is the ultimate goal and that dream has become realistic.

"I hope to ride well the Tour as well, but this was not the right year for me to put my entire focus on it."